Choices
by Eternal Hope is My Company
Summary: RK900 sees a chance to accomplish his mission from Cyberlife. Yet when that chance arrives, he realizes he has a choice to make. Whether to let Connor die or to save him. To allow himself to become deviant or to stay a machine. Either way, he has to be willing to live with the consequences of his choice.


What was he supposed to do? He shouldn't even be asking that question. Yet that question soared quickly across his conscious level of thought as he saw Connor start to fall off the roof. Probability of Connor's survival lowered and lowered as time passed agonizingly slow, as if stuck in slow motion. All the other Connor models were decommissioned and quickly destroyed after the revolution. Something Connor kept to himself and he himself knew from the onset of his activation.

But there was someone that did know Connor was on his one and only life besides them. He glanced just briefly at his detective partner, Gavin Reed. Did their eyes even really have the time to meet? He swore he saw Gavin's mouth move quicker than it should. Were his sensory components going haywire? In the chaos of Lieutenant Anderson's screams and gunfire between the suspect and the cops (as he had yet to take the suspect down to the ground and disarm completely), he somehow heard Gavin's words loud and clear.

"Save him Valen!"

His name. A name not given to him by Cyberlife. Markus and Connor helped pick it out for him. It still hadn't felt like his own though. Just some pseudo to go by in a world that demanded names not be 'RK900'. Gavin had even kept calling him that or even the nickname 'Nines' all this time. Never had Gavin called him Valen. Calling him a human name would affirm the possibility androids were like humans, something Gavin had not readily accepted just because Markus had been successful in the uprising.

For Gavin to break down his defenses and admit the possibility out loud for all to hear…his thirium pump, even as it raced and twisted, felt warmer. So warm in fact he thought he might burn from the inside out. It was the first time he truly felt hot instead of icy cold. Not only that, but the first time Valen felt like his true name.

He turned his head towards Connor who, based on how he was pushed, wouldn't have the chance to grip the edges of the roof. His arms were too far out to correct himself in time. Soon, the probability of survival would be zero. He saw the wall between him and Connor.

_Let Connor Die._

That had been Cyberlife's true objective. When they couldn't put a deviant that they could control in charge of the revolution, the company realized they had to wipe out evidence of their intentions. Only Connor, Markus, and himself knew about it. With Markus becoming such a public figure head though, Cyberlife had realized it would be too risky now to go after him. It would be dangerous to kill Connor outright too with Markus, Lieutenant Anderson, and others protecting the once deviant hunter.

So, Cyberlife gave him the goal of simply letting Connor die in some unfortunate accident. To not save him when the time came. For as they predicted, Connor of course would lie down his life for the humans, especially for Lieutenant Anderson.

"CONNNOORR!" Once again, he heard Lieutenant Anderson scream. The name became filled with more and more anguish. He saw the man being held back by Mr. Miller. Lieutenant Anderson would not be able to get to Connor in time. The detective would have to watch Connor die. Gavin may not care to save Connor. But even if he wanted to, he couldn't for being pinned down by gunfire. He realized a part of him was grateful Gavin wasn't trying to play hero. He didn't want to see Gavin get hurt-

Wait…he wanted something?

Only deviants wanted…right?

Yet the whole time he found himself wanting more and more.

He wanted a cat.

He wanted a place to call home.

He wanted family.

He wanted to experience the unspoken love between Lieutenant Anderson and Connor.

He wanted to be close to Gavin Reed in all ways.

He wanted to be alive.

"Connor!" He yelled out as the wall in between them turned red.

_It's okay Valen. I understand._ Valen heard through the android telepathic lines. _Deviancy is scary and being decommissioned is scarier. I won't fault you for not saving me. I still will love you, brother_.

_But aren't you-_Valen swallowed as he started to see a thorough version of himself bashing at the red wall.

_Aren't you living your worst nightmare?!_ Valen cried out through the link while still trying to break apart the wall. He didn't know how hard it would be though. The wall just kept reforming itself. Cyberlife had done well to make deviancy hard for him to truly achieve.

_I am._

Of course, Connor was. He still remembered the stupid truth or dare game they played with Markus and his group.

"_If you had to say what your worst nightmare was, what would it be?" Valen had chosen to ask that of Connor. At the time, it was to probe his previous model for ways maybe he could fulfill Cyberlife's mission for him._

_Connor had smiled sadly while looking down at his hands._

"_To die by falling while Hank watches…and neither of us can save me. That is my worst nightmare."_

Connor was living that nightmare in that moment and he was instead trying to comfort him? Trying to make him feel better about being an android that only took orders? Just as Gavin accused him of so many times and he was so right that it hurt him greatly?

He heard a loud noise from somewhere. He kept hearing it. There were no words. Just a loud scream with no syllables. He only realized upon feeling his throat start to constrict that it was him.

He was the one screaming in agony.

There were no physical wounds. No, this was mental. It was coming from somewhere inside of him he wasn't familiar with. He couldn't stop himself. Connor's probability was so close to zero it was tearing him apart. Connor was his previous model sure. He was meant to replace him. Connor knew that. He knew that. But Connor was first and foremost…

His older irreplaceable brother.

The wall suddenly broke apart like a rocket had blown through it. Cracking into a million pieces in an instant. His LED went red, but he had no time to realize the full implications. The consequences of going deviant let alone what Cyberlife would do to him. None of that mattered in the moment.

Motion stopped being so slow. He ran as fast as he could towards the edge of the roof and slide towards the edge to allow himself to be lying flat as he reached over the edge. He clenched his eyes tightly shut.

He knew he could already be too late. It would have been less painful to just go with his mission-

His eyes quickly opened widely at feeling two hands gripping tightly onto his arm.

"You saved me. Thank you Valen." Connor grinned at him even as Valen felt Connor tremble. Of course, he would be. Connor was still dangling off the roof. He quickly used his other arm to grip onto Connor and slowly pull Connor back up. He blinked when arms wrapped around his torso from behind and helped with the effort. Had Lieutenant Anderson been able to escape Mr. Miller's grip?

He turned his head only once Connor was back on solid footing. He stared into Gavin's brown eyes.

"Don't get used to it tin can." Gavin quickly spat out while letting go of Valen. "Just uh…looked like you might need assistance and-" He shut up Gavin by turning around and hugging the shorter man tightly to his chest. He didn't realize he was trembling until he noticed he was shaking against Gavin.

"Thank you, Gavin." Valen whispered softly. He noticed the scene sounded less chaotic around him. The suspect must have been taken down.

"Connor!" And looks like he had been right about Lieutenant Anderson escaping Mr. Miller's hold. He looked over his shoulder to see Lieutenant Anderson crouching down and pulling Connor into a tight hug. "You're okay hun. You're safe. I'm right here." Lieutenant Anderson spoke so tenderly to Connor that Valen raised an eyebrow at hearing such from a normally gruff and unsociable man. "I don't think I want to let you go for a while, Connor. So just suck it up about being stuck to me."

"I wouldn't want it any other way, Lieu-"

"I don't give a fuck about formality right now." Lieutenant Anderson blurted out, causing Valen to now raise both eyebrows. "Please call me Hank. I need to hear it from you."

He saw Connor smiled warmly even while tears started to go down his face. "Of course, Hank. I wouldn't want it any other way, Hank."

It was like Connor knew Lieutenant Anderson needed the repeated use of his name. He just found himself staring at the scene of Lieutenant Anderson rocking Connor slightly and noting how both were silently sobbing against each other.

"Eewww. Like I needed to see such a sob fest. Swear to phfucking god they are acting like the end of the world is phfucking happening over there." Gavin blurted out and rolled his eyes. "Phfuck."

Valen blinked at realizing Gavin had…returned his hug and was acting like they still weren't hugging. His cheeks strangely flustered at realizing the implication of Gavin's gesture.

They hadn't made any move towards each other. But it wasn't like he hadn't been staying at Gavin's a lot lately or hadn't been asked over for lunch on work days even though he couldn't eat. It wasn't like they didn't co-own cats or how there was a cat named Valen that looked like him. Now that he was deviant though…

"Guess nearly dying can do that to you." Valen responded with a faint smile on his face. "Makes me almost wish I could eat your chinse and watch horror movies right about now. Think I'll need it after seeing all this."

Gavin laughed loudly. "Have I told you I love your phfucked up sense of humor, Valen?"

Valen glanced at Lieutenant Anderson and Connor daring to act on, or just display (not like he asked their actual relationship status), their feelings in a passionate kiss. Only hidden by their position and how without meaning to, he and Gavin shielded them from view (or the other officers didn't give a damn. Made sense too). He smiled more and looked back at Gavin.

"No, but you can start."


End file.
